DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is a pesticide once widely used to control insects in agriculture and insects that carry diseases such as malaria. DDT is a white, crystalline solid with no odor or taste. Its use in the U.S. was banned in 1972 because of damage to wildlife, but is still used in some countries.

How might I be exposed to DDT?

Eating contaminated foods, such as root and leafy vegetable, fatty meat, fish, and poultry, but levels are very low.

Eating contaminated imported foods from countries that still allow the use of DDT to control pests.

Breathing contaminated air or drinking contaminated water near waste sites and landfills that may contain higher levels of these chemicals.

Infants fed on breast milk from mothers who have been exposed.

Breathing or swallowing soil particles near waste sites or landfills that contain these chemicals.

How likely id DDT to cause cancer?

Studies in DDT-exposed workers did not show increases in cancer. Studies in animals given DDT with the food have shown that DDT can cause liver cancer.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) determined that DDT may reasonably be anticipated to be a human carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) determined that DDT may possibly cause cancer in humans. The EPA determined that DDT is a probable human carcinogen.

References Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2002. Toxicological Profile for DDT/DDE/DDD (Update). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.